Toothbar in winter?

[daTeacha]

I just went home last night after work and used mine.

We had freezing rain on top of snow the other day and the ground had a thick blanket of ice on it. It made walking a little treacherous. So I un-curled my FEL and smashed up the ice enough to make the surface all broken up so it is easier and safer to walk on now.

Exactly the circumstances I use mine in winter. We get snow, then melt, then maybe rain on the cold ground, leaving everything with a nice glaze of ice. I came home Wednesday to find my 21 year old sons car sideways at the top of the curve at the top of the drive. After extricating it for him by backing into the yard and driving down the hill then showing him how to use 2nd gear instead of 1st for less torque coming back up, I went out and put the tooth bar on the bucket and just dug grooves up and down the driveway ice. A pass or two with the blade to distribute the chunks of ice and dislodged gravel and the driveway was fine even for inept drivers.

Of course it is now thawing again and will soon freeze again, making me repeat the process, hopefully without teaching the kid how to drive his car. Such is winter at 41N latitude. Oh yeah, sometimes it snows a lot, too, and sometimes you might go a few weeks without a thaw, which is really nice. You just never know what next week will bring, sometimes you don't about tomorrow, and when it gets really fun, the next hours weather is a surprize to everyone including the weather guys. You need to be ready for anything weatherwise in the winters around here.

 

[PA hayseed]

took it off for snow removal, put it back on for ice removal, took it back off again for snow removal. Starting to think I need a second bucket.

Its not all that bad though, only takes a couple of minutes to take it off and put it on. Beats wasting money on a second bucket, when there are other attachments I want more.

Where is woods clause when you need him? I've been good, well kinda..sometimes.

 

[Northland]

I use my bucket/FEL for snow clearing along with a rear blade in the winter-putt_putt_green you know how much snow we get up here near the ski hill.

I took my toothbar off after I clipped the garage door frame with it while backing up into the garage and angling the tractor into the corner . I also clipped the side of my deck and steps while doing some finesse type snow plowing .

The toothbar is a pita when using your bucket for clearing snow. It also leaves ruts when back-dragging.

 

[canoetrpr]

Less then a week after I took my toothbar off for the winter, I put it back on. We had a thaw up here and some freezing rain so my driveway was a 250ft sheet of ice.

Few trips up and down with the toothbar and and the surface is now rough and quite safe.

I'll be taking it off again and won't put it on until I actually need it for jobs. I find that the bucket is nicer to use without it for manure cleanup and such unless I actually need it.

The guy at the dealers who installed my toothbar has one of the two holes on the bucket off by 1/8 of an inch or so. It takes me twice as long to put the toothbar on or take it off as a result of this. Anyone know what the best way is to widen a hole in a bucket? Should I just get a bit that is slightly larger and drill away at it?

 

[canoetrpr]

Northland, good to know that I'm not the only guy doing a bit of damage here and there with my tractor I've been known to crack the odd fence board or facer board on the barn trying some finesse work too close to fences or buildings also

 

[MikeD74T]

A few seconds with a sharp chainsaw file will move that hole 1/8" & only in the direction you want it to move. MikeD74T

 

[canoetrpr]

Thanks for the tip Mike. I'll go looking for a chainsaw file at the hardware store today.

Could have also used something like this when putting up my sunshade canopy over the last weekend. One of the holes in the bracket was slightly misaligned.

 

[daTeacha]

You could also invest in some of those offset bolts that are made specifically for misaligned holes. Get one with the offset in the shank, not the one with the offset head only, and don't let them sell you the angled style if what you need is the offset, which are a little harder to find. Look at IMS (Inept Mechanic Supply) if you can't find them locally. I think they may have a website, but I'm not sure.

If you can't find one and they don't have a website, you can make your own with a hack saw and a welder. Just cut the shank at a depth equal to the first hole and then set the cut portion off to one side the 1/8 inch or whatever and weld it back on. If you're going to tightening it down pretty hard, allow for a tiny amount of stretch or plan to use a thin washer. A little polishing of the weld or just some silver paint and no one will ever know it was hand made instead of store bought.

 

[MikeD74T]

daTeacha, I think a "wink" might have been more appropriate. I've seen those offset bolts but didn't know I could get new ones. I have several offset shear pins in the toolbox, make them myself by bush hogging a big rock! MikeD74T

 

[canoetrpr]

Wow! Never heard of an offset or angled bolt before.

Wonder if I can find one locally.